The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said March 22 that the Venezuelan national charged with murdering 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago freshman Sheridan Gorman was apprehended by Border Patrol in May 2023 before being released into the U.S. under the Biden administration.
DHS also said in its press release that the suspect, 25-year-old Jose Medina-Medina, was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago in June 2023, marking a prior criminal incident before the alleged murder. CBS News reported that Medina-Medina was charged with retail theft and released on bond. He later failed to appeal in court, prompting a warrant for his arrest that is still outstanding. He is currently being quarantined for a potentially contagious condition, according to Chicago Police Department sources cited by FOX News.
According to ABC7 Chicago, Gorman — a Westchester County, New York, native — was shot in the head and killed around 1 a.m. March 19, while walking with friends at Tobey Prinz Beach, less than one mile from campus. Authorities said the masked suspect approached the group on foot before pulling out a gun and opening fire. Gorman, who was shot as she attempted to flee, was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.
On March 22, Chicago police formally charged Medina-Medina with six felony counts in the shooting of Gorman. According to a statement cited by FOX, the charges include one count of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree attempted murder, three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, and one count of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon.
In the DHS release, Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said Gorman “had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life.” Bis added that the college student was “failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians who RELEASED this illegal alien TWICE before he went on to commit this heinous murder.”
“We are calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods,” Bis said.
DHS also pointed to broader efforts to ensure immigration enforcement policies are followed in Illinois. The department said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons sent a letter to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul in December 2025, urging him to “honor ICE arrest detainers of the more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens in the state’s custody including murderers, sexual predators, and those convicted of or charged with weapons offenses."